ART bus service and trash collection updates for Monday, Jan. 25

If road conditions warrant, ART bus service may have a delayed start time of 10 a.m., Monday, Jan. 25. Information about route service will be posted no later than 6 a.m., Monday morning on the ART Service Alerts page.

Trash and recycling collection will resume but may be delayed in some areas due to snow covered and icy roads. Residents are asked to follow the regular collection schedule and leave trash and recycling at curbside. If conditions restrict access, crews will collect as soon as conditions improve. Residents can call 251-1122 for questions about trash collection and 252-2532 for questions about recycling collection.

The City of Asheville Public Works crews continue around-the-clock work plowing, sanding and salting streets. Progress was made today on Priority 1 and Priority 2 roads. Road designations are available through the use of the City of Asheville snow mapper.

Black ice is possible during the morning commute as snow melt on roads may refreeze.

Sunday, Jan. 24, 10:00 a.m. update

ART bus service cancelled for Sunday, Jan. 24

Due to many impassable roads, ART bus service is cancelled for Sunday, Jan. 24. For up-to-date details, visit ART’s Service Alerts page.

Residents are encouraged to keep transportation networks safe by removing snow from sidewalks. Because of the ongoing snowfall, sidewalks have not yet been cleared in many places, prompting pedestrians to take to the street. By ordinance, it is the responsibility of the property owner to clear sidewalks. This includes homeowners and business owners.

The City of Asheville Public Works crews continue around-the-clock work plowing, sanding and salting streets. Depending on how low the temperature goes, however, salt may not be effective in melting ice. For safety, residents are encouraged to continue to avoid driving, especially until the temperatures rise in the afternoon.

The City also reminds citizens to remove their cars from streets to facilitate efficient snow plowing. As an alternative, the City offers drivers the free use of City parking garages through this evening.

City Parks & Recreation facilities will remain closed Sunday.

Other reminders:
· If you believe a water meter is frozen, contact the Water Department at 828-251-1122. Pipes and plumbing on the house side of the meter are considered private, and are the customer’s responsibility.
· Residents are asked to call 828-251-1122 to report downed trees.
· In the event of an emergency, citizens are urged to call 9-1-1.
· Downed power lines are dangerous and should be reported to 911. Power outages can be reported to Duke Energy Progress by calling the toll-free, automated outage reporting system at 1-800-419-6356. Spanish speaking customers should call 1-866-4APAGON (427-2466) for outage reporting assistance. For information regarding the outage restoration process, visit outagemap.duke-energy.com.

ART bus service is expected to resume on a limited schedule at noon Sunday, though some routes may be modified due to street conditions. For up-to-date details, visit ART’s Service Alerts page.

As the Winter Storm Warning expires Sunday, the City will transition its efforts from response to recovery. Public Works will continue around-the-clock street clearing on primary and secondary roads. And efforts will expand to include snow removal from the Central Business District.

A front end loader will be employed Sunday to transfer snow piled up in the Central Business District to the McCormick Field parking lot.

Once the snow ends, and the temperatures start to rise Sunday, the City would encourage everyone to keep our transportation network safe by removing snow from sidewalks. Because of the ongoing snowfall, sidewalks have not yet been cleared in many places, prompting pedestrians to take to the street. By ordinance, it is the responsibility of the property owner to clear sidewalks. This includes homeowners and business owners.

With temperatures expected in the mid-teens overnight, black ice on roads could pose a hazard to motorists Sunday morning. The City of Asheville Public Works crews continue around-the-clock work plowing, sanding and salting streets. Depending on how low the temperature goes, however, salt may not be effective in melting ice. For safety, residents are encouraged to continue to avoid driving, especially until the temperatures rise in the afternoon.

The City also reminds citizens to remove their cars from streets to facilitate efficient snow plowing. As an alternative, the City offers drivers the free use of City parking garages through Sunday.

City Parks & Recreation facilities will remain closed Sunday.

Other reminders:

If you believe a water meter is frozen, contact the Water Department at 828-251-1122. Pipes and plumbing on the house side of the meter are considered private, and are the customer’s responsibility.

Residents are asked to call 828-251-1122 to report downed trees.

In the event of an emergency, citizens are urged to call 9-1-1.

Downed power lines are dangerous and should be reported to 911. Power outages can be reported to Duke Energy Progress by calling the toll-free, automated outage reporting system at 1-800-419-6356. Spanish speaking customers should call 1-866-4APAGON (427-2466) for outage reporting assistance. For information regarding the outage restoration process, visit outagemap.duke-energy.com.

Public Works is making headway on clearing Asheville’s streets. Sixty percent of our equipment is working on primary streets, plowing and spreading material this afternoon, while the other 40% has started plowing and putting material on secondary streets.

Still, travel conditions are still considered dangerous with most roads being still having some snow and/or ice on them.

We’d like to remind all residents that on-street parking may make it difficult or in some cases prohibit access by our larger plow/spreader equipment. The City’s downtown parking garages are open free through Sunday so please park there and not on the street to facilitate efficient snow plowing.

Saturday, Jan. 23, 11 a.m. update

Here comes the wind, folks.

The Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 7 a.m. Sunday. While 1 to 3 inches of additional accumulation is possible, the snow is tapering off, but the wind is kicking up. According to the National Weather Service, Asheville currently has 24 mph winds with gusts up to 32 mph. And the wind gusts could go as high as 45 mph.

Along with wind comes the increased chance of downed trees and power outages.

Residents are asked to call 828-251-1122 to report downed trees. In the event of an emergency, citizens are urged to call 9-1-1.

Remember that downed power lines are dangerous and should be reported to 911.

Power outages can be reported to Duke Energy Progress by calling the toll-free, automated outage reporting system at 1-800-419-6356. Spanish speaking customers should call 1-866-4APAGON (427-2466) for outage reporting assistance. For information regarding the outage restoration process, visit outagemap.duke-energy.com.

Saturday, Jan. 23, 9 a.m. update

Winter Storm Jonas has delivered 13.4 inches of snow to Asheville so far, according to the National Weather Service. Snow showers are light this morning and that’s good news for our city. Little new accumulation is expected.

Public Works is plowing primary and some secondary roads this morning, and spreading material between snow showers. Few secondary roads have been plowed/treated so far but the work has begun. So hang tight! We are hopeful Asheville’s streets will be more passable as the day goes by.

Our snowMapper site shows which roads are primary and which ones are secondary. Again primary roads have been the priority to ensure they are passable for our emergency responders.

Public Works had 33 employees clearing roads through last night, using everything from trucks with plows and spreaders and even a motor grader fitted with a plow. And they are still at it this morning.

Some reminders:

For the safety of our citizens, ART bus service has cancelled service for Saturday, Jan. 23.

All Parks & Recreation facilities and parks remain closed.

City parking garages remain open FREE throughout this weekend. The City encourages motorists to park in garages and not on the streets facilitate efficient snow plowing.

Until the streets are cleared up better, we encourage people to stay off the roads and not drive at all for now.

Here is a picture of Public Works crews mobilizing this morning to clear those streets!

Friday, Jan. 22, 4:15 p.m. update

For the safety of our citizens, ART bus service has cancelled service for Saturday, Jan. 23. As the snow continues to fall and accumulate, the streets are still extremely dangerous.

Public Works crews continue to plow primary streets throughout the snowfall, doing their best to keep main thoroughfares open for emergency responders.

Friday, Jan. 22, 3:30 p.m. update

Public Works day shift currently has 33 employees working with 14 crew trucks with plows, 8 single axle, and 4 tandem axle trucks with plows and 1 motor grader. We continue to work on primary roads and have returned to plowing operations only due to continued snow fall and accumulation. All roads are snow covered with snow still accumulating.

Thank you to everyone using good judgment and staying off the roads in these hazardous conditions.

Friday, Jan. 22, 1:30 p.m. update

Asheville has received 10.5 inches of snow so far in this storm and more is coming.

“You’re going to see another wave of snow later on into this evening,” said Danny Gant, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Greer, S.C. “This primary upper low is still to our west. It’s going to slide across the Tennessee Valley into Western North Carolina. It’s snowing pretty good in Tennessee right now. So you are by no means done. Asheville could see another 4-5 or 6 inches before it’s done.”

Asheville Police reports that call volume has been light, due to the fact that most people are staying off the roadways, which we greatly appreciate.

Friday, Jan. 22, 12:40 p.m. update

Public Works street crews have taken advantage of a break in the snowfall to make some headway on our primary streets. Around noon they began spreading salt and sand over primary streets they’ve been able to clear. This will allow for safer travel but again we encourage everyone to stay off the streets.

A reminder: The City urges citizens to remove their cars from streets to facilitate efficient snow plowing. As an alternative, the City offers drivers the free use of City parking garages and lots Friday through Sunday.

All City of Asheville Parks & Recreation facilities are closed and gates are locked at many facilities.

There are no reports of problems with our water system or downed trees.

Friday, Jan. 22, 10:50 a.m. update

City of Asheville Public Works street crews are plowing away, still focusing on our primary roads. They have to be the priority right now for the safety of the community so our emergency responders can get through.

Citizens can learn about any street designation through the City’s Snowmapper site. Priority is given to streets that serve as main thoroughfares for emergency response.

We’re also glad to report that City has an ample supply of salt and sand on hand.

All City of Asheville facilities are closed Friday, so as pretty as City Hall is in the snow, please sit tight and stay home if possible. We are seeing a lot of stranded motorists.
Public Works crews are working hard to clear streets, which as you can see from the volume of snow coming down, is a challenge. But they are working diligently, clearing primary routes as the priority so emergency responders can get through in this weather.

ART bus service is cancelled for the day.

Friday, Jan. 22 6:22 a.m. update

Due to hazardous road conditions and declarations of a State of Emergency at the State, County and local level, City facilities are closed to the public and will operate with limited staff Friday, January 22. Water production, public works and public safety service are not impacted by the closures.

Public works crews are currently focusing all attention on primary roads and will continue plowing and treating roads through the duration of the storm.

Mayor declares State of Emergency

City of Asheville initiates response to Winter Storm Warning

ASHEVILLE — City departments are implementing plans set in place days ago to respond to the snow storm entering the region.

Public works crews began checking and treating roads yesterday and that process is ongoing in response to the Winter Storm Warning issued by the National Weather Service and the State of Emergency declared by Gov. Pat McCrory. The Winter Storm Warning is in effect from 7 p.m. Thursday through 7 a.m. Sunday, with as much as 10 inches of accumulation forecast for the Asheville area.

Public works crews will continue to provide 24-hour service. “Our Public Works trucks pull double duty during snow events. We outfit our regular trucks with snow removal plows,” said Public Works Director Greg Shuler.

The City has 25 vehicles prepped for snow removal. Currently, trucks are pretreating main corridors with a liquid salt brine. Trucks will apply solid salt and sand and plow streets once the winter storm moves in and progresses. Citizens can learn about any street designation through the City’s Snowmapper site. Priority is given to streets that serve as main thoroughfares for emergency response.

All public safety services, including police, fire and emergency response, will operate on normal schedule – 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Water utility services will continue on a 24-hour production schedule. Customers can call the customer service line at 828-251-1122 to report water-related emergencies, leaks, breaks and no water calls.

The City urges citizens to remove their cars from streets to facilitate efficient snow plowing. As an alternative, the City offers drivers the free use of City parking garages and lots Friday through Sunday. Also, residents are discouraged from unnecessary travel.

In anticipation of deteriorating road conditions, Asheville Redefines Transit (ART) bus service will close earlier than usual tonight. The last bus will leave the ART station at 10 p.m. On Friday, ART bus service will be suspended until noon. The City will provide regular ART routes updates early Friday on the City of Asheville website, and on the City’s social media channels, facebook.com/CityofAsheville and twitter.com/cityofasheville. It is anticipated that ART will run limited bus routes during the winter storm. Routes may be modified, depending on which streets have been cleared. Riders should expect delays and are advised to visit ART’s Next Bus and or dial 828-253-5691 and press #5 for updated arrival times. Visit ashevilletransit.com or call 253-5691 for updated transit information.

In the event of an emergency, citizens are urged to call 9-1-1.

Residents are asked to call 828-251-1122 to report downed trees.

If you believe a water meter is frozen, contact the Water Department at 828-251-1122. Pipes and plumbing on the house side of the meter are considered private, and are the customer’s responsibility.

City facility closings will be announced and posted to the City’s website by 8 a.m., if snow warrants.

Asheville area shelters are operating under a CODE PURPLE. Persons experiencing homelessness will have the opportunity to come inside and warm up during the day, even if a shelter would typically be closed. Extra floor, cot, and bed space will be available at overnight shelters to ensure that no one has to stay outside. Shelters are encouraging emergency workers and police to urge people outside at night to come inside.

Downed power lines are dangerous and should be reported to 911. Power outages can be reported to Duke Energy Progress by calling the toll-free, automated outage reporting system at 1-800-419-6356. Spanish speaking customers should call 1-866-4APAGON (427-2466) for outage reporting assistance. For information regarding the outage restoration process, visit outagemap.duke-energy.com.

Citizens are advised to keep informed by monitoring local media for updated information. Also find frequent updates on the City of Asheville website.

Events rescheduled

The US Cellular Center has announced that both the Winter Warmer Beer Festival and the Jackson Browne concert scheduled for this weekend have been postponed. Please check uscellularcenterasheville.com for updated dates and times.